For years, State Assemblymember Michael DenDekker has advocated for election reforms that would facilitate greater access to the polls.

For the first time in nearly a decade, New York has the Democratic majority in the Senate to make those reforms a reality. The Senate and Assembly both passed a slate of voting reforms earlier this month.

The new measures include a nine-day early voting window before all elections, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, holding state and federal primaries one the same day and closing the LLC loophole.

“Current election laws are so onerous for New Yorkers that many of them are actually blocked from voting,” DenDekker said. “We need to reform these election laws, which are among the worst in the country, so that we can ensure that every New Yorker has the opportunity to cast a ballot, and have a fair say in our elections without having his or her voice crowded out by corporate interests.”